I'm glad i found this group, because i am really struggling with my GD. This is my second pregnancy, in my third month. My first was a breeze, even with the GD. This one is so much harder! I have no appetitie, so my levels are not consistent, my fasting hovers around 100, and it seems no matter what or how little i eat, i cannot get a grip on my BS. And to make it worse, all i crave is chocolate and juice. It's all i want - the thought of any other food just makes me nauseous. And we all know what juice will do to the BS. So, i just walk around all day feeling like crap, because i can't stomach anything. My doctor had me on Glyburide, but it made my sugar drop so fast and so often, i had to eat every 30 min to keep from crashing! My work schedule is crazy - i go in at 3am, so my mealtimes are out of whack. What am i going to do?

I'm glad i found this group, because i am really struggling with my GD. This is my second pregnancy, in my third month. My first was a breeze, even with the GD. This one is so much harder! I have no appetitie, so my levels are not consistent, my fasting hovers around 100, and it seems no matter what or how little i eat, i cannot get a grip on my BS. And to make it worse, all i crave is chocolate and juice. It's all i want - the thought of any other food just makes me nauseous. And we all know what juice will do to the BS. So, i just walk around all day feeling like crap, because i can't stomach anything. My doctor had me on Glyburide, but it made my sugar drop so fast and so often, i had to eat every 30 min to keep from crashing! My work schedule is crazy - i go in at 3am, so my mealtimes are out of whack. What am i going to do?

It's hard, especially if you are nauseated. Try to get as much protein as you can, eat just a little every couple of hours, I even eat in the night to control my fasting number.

Hi everyone. I have read a few pages, but just can't manage to read all 51

I have PCOS and with both my previous pregnancies, wound up as "borderline" GD near the end. I had an OK dietitian the first time who just told me to limit the grams of sugar first thing in the AM.

So, this time I want to be more proactive. I am pretty close to vegan and am having a hard time finding GD resources that fit with my diet. Doea anyone know of any good websites with diet info for a vegan?

Hi everyone. I have read a few pages, but just can't manage to read all 51

I have PCOS and with both my previous pregnancies, wound up as "borderline" GD near the end. I had an OK dietitian the first time who just told me to limit the grams of sugar first thing in the AM.

So, this time I want to be more proactive. I am pretty close to vegan and am having a hard time finding GD resources that fit with my diet. Doea anyone know of any good websites with diet info for a vegan?

Not vegan but wanted to point out you want to look at the CARB count of foods, not the sugar. It's a really common mistake. One carb is equal to 15g.
I know my friend was on metformin her whole pregnancy for PCOS and she thinks that is what prevented her from getting GD.

Not vegan but wanted to point out you want to look at the CARB count of foods, not the sugar. It's a really common mistake. One carb is equal to 15g.
I know my friend was on metformin her whole pregnancy for PCOS and she thinks that is what prevented her from getting GD.

She is probably right. Check out this article/study. I think my mom sent it to me when I was pregnant with my first.

She is probably right. Check out this article/study. I think my mom sent it to me when I was pregnant with my first.

Very interesting!

Just to give hope to the newly diagnosed. I followed the typical pattern of my numbers peaking out during my 34th week. They declined during the 35th and 36th and since the 37th are darn low. I'm in the 80's all the time. Fasting, after meals,etc. I've even started eating a 1/2 C. of ice cream with peanut butter every night after dinner and no change: (I'm 38 weeks today).

And I concur with Amy. Around 37/38 weeks I also started to be able to eat a lot more variety of foods and carbs. I found I had to watch it and not really LOAD UP on them, but that I could eat much more normally. In fact I was dropping below 80 in between meals (by 2 hours-- they had me testing at 1 hr but I was feeling crappy and started checking other times too). One week before the baby was born (when I was 39w+4) I walked over to the mall for Ben and Jerry's free ice cream cone day-- ate the ice cream AND the cone and was only a bit over 100 and hour later.

Hello!
Read a few pages, but as one pp said- I can't sit through all 50+!!

Sooo, I came here because I failed my 1 hour glucose test. They said I was at 155. I am having a very hard time accepting this though, because for approx 13 years, I have had an on-going battle with hypoglycemia....
I test my own glucose levels, usually not daily, but a few times a week I guess. I typically have only tested for the past .. years when ever I "feel" the need. It is very rare for me to go above 120. It is very normal for me to sit around 65-85. It sucks, but I have learned to deal with it. I have to eat constantly!!

So, I refused the 3 hour test. I explained that there was no way I was at 155, and here is why: by the end of the hour, I was feeling a bit "quakey", and my ears had started ringing. It was almost 11am at this point, and I had my last snack at about 11:30 the night before. So, I knew I was low. I keep snacks in my car, out of necessity, and I had to drink one of my cans of V8 and sit in the car for a few with my DS till I felt ok to drive to the coffee shop to meet DP. If I was at 155, a V8 would not have made me feel better! And then I had a 16oz decaf mocha (um, sugar) and a ham&cheese croissant sandwich. I felt better after that. I had to have a good meal when I got home, but still, if it had really been 155, and I am used to sitting between 65-85, after the things I ingested, I would have been &*%#$@. Right??

Sorry this is so long, need opinions from those who would know, and I thought I should explain thoroughly.
THANKS!!!

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Hello!
Read a few pages, but as one pp said- I can't sit through all 50+!!

Sooo, I came here because I failed my 1 hour glucose test. They said I was at 155. I am having a very hard time accepting this though, because for approx 13 years, I have had an on-going battle with hypoglycemia....
I test my own glucose levels, usually not daily, but a few times a week I guess. I typically have only tested for the past .. years when ever I "feel" the need. It is very rare for me to go above 120. It is very normal for me to sit around 65-85. It sucks, but I have learned to deal with it. I have to eat constantly!!

So, I refused the 3 hour test. I explained that there was no way I was at 155, and here is why: by the end of the hour, I was feeling a bit "quakey", and my ears had started ringing. It was almost 11am at this point, and I had my last snack at about 11:30 the night before. So, I knew I was low. I keep snacks in my car, out of necessity, and I had to drink one of my cans of V8 and sit in the car for a few with my DS till I felt ok to drive to the coffee shop to meet DP. If I was at 155, a V8 would not have made me feel better! And then I had a 16oz decaf mocha (um, sugar) and a ham&cheese croissant sandwich. I felt better after that. I had to have a good meal when I got home, but still, if it had really been 155, and I am used to sitting between 65-85, after the things I ingested, I would have been &*%#$@. Right??

Sorry this is so long, need opinions from those who would know, and I thought I should explain thoroughly.
THANKS!!!

Just to clarify you're saying you felt like your sugar crashed after the the glucose test? If so that's not uncommon from what I've read. I know personally I did after every glucose test I've ever had(I've passed 3 of them before this one) & several of my friends have also.

Personally I feel like they should put a warning on the paperwork to bring a cooler with something to eat after the test.

Fwiw up until a few weeks ago I had very low sugars & I crashed often. The usual later pg spike in #'s hit me a few weeks ago though

Hope you can get some resolution with your hcp. Are you testing daily? I've seen quite a few people just skip the 3 hour & go directly to testing themselves, showing their hcp the #'s during their visits.

Hi ladies, I couldn't read through all the pages but I did search some key words and found some of my answers already, so thank you!!

I am 36 weeks now and my ob wants me to do the 3 hr glucose test this week. Her reason is that on my u/s 3 days ago my amniotic fluid level was on the high side (the number was 26). Last week it was fine, 18. I will be talking to the office today and I want to ask them about just using a glucometer to test my sugar levels instead of doing the 3 hour test. Is this a good idea? I figure if I've had GD and it's been unmanaged for a while, I want to know asap what my levels are. The 3 hour test is so inconvenient and if I fail I'll have to do the glucometer anyway, right?

I passed the 1 hour test with 109. But for some reason I was told to take it earlier than normal, around 21 weeks, I believe. I think the dr. meant to schedule me for another one later on but forgot.

Baby is measuring average, not big. I'm measuring big on the outside by a few weeks.

Anyway, I just want to have sound reasoning when I talk to the office about this today.

I hope I don't have GD--if I do, I wonder how long I've had it and been unmanaged?

Thanks for any advice, this is a wonderfully informative support group!!
Deb

Hi ladies, I couldn't read through all the pages but I did search some key words and found some of my answers already, so thank you!!

I am 36 weeks now and my ob wants me to do the 3 hr glucose test this week. Her reason is that on my u/s 3 days ago my amniotic fluid level was on the high side (the number was 26). Last week it was fine, 18. I will be talking to the office today and I want to ask them about just using a glucometer to test my sugar levels instead of doing the 3 hour test. Is this a good idea? I figure if I've had GD and it's been unmanaged for a while, I want to know asap what my levels are. The 3 hour test is so inconvenient and if I fail I'll have to do the glucometer anyway, right?

I passed the 1 hour test with 109. But for some reason I was told to take it earlier than normal, around 21 weeks, I believe. I think the dr. meant to schedule me for another one later on but forgot.

Baby is measuring average, not big. I'm measuring big on the outside by a few weeks.

Anyway, I just want to have sound reasoning when I talk to the office about this today.

I hope I don't have GD--if I do, I wonder how long I've had it and been unmanaged?

Thanks for any advice, this is a wonderfully informative support group!!
Deb

I can't see any reason why you couldn't use the glucometer instead of taking the 3 hour. Your reasoning is sound imo.

As for why they tested you earlier than normal I can probably answer that. My ob did the same & from your sig I'd say they would have done it because of your age & the # of kids you have. That's my dr's 'risk factors' not my own personal opinion or anything, they claim those are some of the things that put you at higher risk for gd.

I can't see any reason why you couldn't use the glucometer instead of taking the 3 hour. Your reasoning is sound imo.

As for why they tested you earlier than normal I can probably answer that. My ob did the same & from your sig I'd say they would have done it because of your age & the # of kids you have. That's my dr's 'risk factors' not my own personal opinion or anything, they claim those are some of the things that put you at higher risk for gd.

Thanks KarlaC!
So were you diagnosed w/GD the first time your ob tested you, even though it was early?
I'm glad to know there may have been reasons for testing me early, my risk factors. I wonder why I wasn't re-tested later in the pgcy, though, even though I passed the early one.

Hello!
Read a few pages, but as one pp said- I can't sit through all 50+!!

Sooo, I came here because I failed my 1 hour glucose test. They said I was at 155. I am having a very hard time accepting this though, because for approx 13 years, I have had an on-going battle with hypoglycemia....
I test my own glucose levels, usually not daily, but a few times a week I guess. I typically have only tested for the past .. years when ever I "feel" the need. It is very rare for me to go above 120. It is very normal for me to sit around 65-85. It sucks, but I have learned to deal with it. I have to eat constantly!!

So, I refused the 3 hour test. I explained that there was no way I was at 155, and here is why: by the end of the hour, I was feeling a bit "quakey", and my ears had started ringing. It was almost 11am at this point, and I had my last snack at about 11:30 the night before. So, I knew I was low. I keep snacks in my car, out of necessity, and I had to drink one of my cans of V8 and sit in the car for a few with my DS till I felt ok to drive to the coffee shop to meet DP. If I was at 155, a V8 would not have made me feel better! And then I had a 16oz decaf mocha (um, sugar) and a ham&cheese croissant sandwich. I felt better after that. I had to have a good meal when I got home, but still, if it had really been 155, and I am used to sitting between 65-85, after the things I ingested, I would have been &*%#$@. Right??

Sorry this is so long, need opinions from those who would know, and I thought I should explain thoroughly.
THANKS!!!

Sounds a lot like my reaction. And after monitoring my blood sugar (and taking the 3 hour) I can say that I did have GD.

Thanks KarlaC!
So were you diagnosed w/GD the first time your ob tested you, even though it was early?
I'm glad to know there may have been reasons for testing me early, my risk factors. I wonder why I wasn't re-tested later in the pgcy, though, even though I passed the early one.

I was borderline the first test, over their target # by 5. I can't say why they waited so long to re-test, if I had to guess I'd say you slipped through some crack in the paperwork.

Hmm, I'm still not totally convinced I have GD. I have been monitoring my levels for the past few days, and this is what has been typical-

before brekfast 87 1hour after 104 2hours after 82

b lunch 84 1hour 113 2hours 81

b dinner 74 1hour 109 2hours 86

To me those don't seem like GD levels. But of course my doc is still insisting that I have it, even though he has seen my home monitored levels, and all he has to go off of is the 1 hour. Oh, and he said the 1 hour is ALWAYS accurate. For some reason, I dont believe that.

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Hmm, I'm still not totally convinced I have GD. I have been monitoring my levels for the past few days, and this is what has been typical-

before brekfast 87 1hour after 104 2hours after 82

b lunch 84 1hour 113 2hours 81

b dinner 74 1hour 109 2hours 86

To me those don't seem like GD levels. But of course my doc is still insisting that I have it, even though he has seen my home monitored levels, and all he has to go off of is the 1 hour. Oh, and he said the 1 hour is ALWAYS accurate. For some reason, I dont believe that.

If you have these number and have not modified your diet I would guess you do not have GD.

Hmm, I'm still not totally convinced I have GD. I have been monitoring my levels for the past few days, and this is what has been typical-

before brekfast 87 1hour after 104 2hours after 82

b lunch 84 1hour 113 2hours 81

b dinner 74 1hour 109 2hours 86

To me those don't seem like GD levels. But of course my doc is still insisting that I have it, even though he has seen my home monitored levels, and all he has to go off of is the 1 hour. Oh, and he said the 1 hour is ALWAYS accurate. For some reason, I dont believe that.

Yeah, I'm in a similar boat. My numbers at home don't fall into the diabetes ranges (talked to my mom, who is type II and got numbers from her). Yet my dr. still wants me to go in for the 3 hour because it is more "accurate"--same word your dr. used.

Yeah, I'm in a similar boat. My numbers at home don't fall into the diabetes ranges (talked to my mom, who is type II and got numbers from her). Yet my dr. still wants me to go in for the 3 hour because it is more "accurate"--same word your dr. used.

And the 1 hour is just a screen, I thought...

The 1 hour has a pretty high false positive rate I've read. Fwiw dr's are usually a lot stricter on Gestational Diabetes #'s than they are with type II or I.

Can anyone recommend a particular type of blood glucose monitor? I'm hoping to find something that involves as little bleeding as possible since I'm taking lovenox for clotting issues (not to mention how much I can't stand poking my fingers, but that's just whining).

I don't have GD as far as we know - passed the 1 hr test but I'm on metformin for PCOS and my OB would like me to monitor blood sugar one day per week, just to make sure they're under control (I actually am slightly concerned, since this is the first pregnancy in which I've ever measured ahead - and baby measures ahead on u/s. OB isn't concerned about that at the moment; he's just trying to be very careful. He's more concerned with things like the increased risk for stillbirth). I will be meeting with the dietician soon and I guess she helps me get the monitor, I'm not sure. (I'm so afraid I'm going to be "busted" as far as my diet goes, but that's another story).

I assume the new-fangled kind of monitors that I see advertised on tv are super expensive. I have a super-cheapo one from walgreens I bought myself long ago, but I hate the finger sticks. Is there anything in between? Does insurance pay or is this out of pocket?

thanks for any suggestions!! ugh, I don't know how you ladies do it...

I just had my first day following the diet they gave me, and I am so hungry! I am a vegetarian and in order to keep to the servings of carbs they want me to eat, I leave every meal hungry and waiting for my snack. Ugh. I hate this! So far my numbers were good, but not by a large margin at all. Any tips for vegetarians that love carbs, and don't eat a ton of protein to begin with?

The 1 hour has a pretty high false positive rate I've read. Fwiw dr's are usually a lot stricter on Gestational Diabetes #'s than they are with type II or I.

Thanks--I'm thinking I do need to take the 3 hour. I don't want to take any chances. So I'll try to set that up for tomorrow morning. I'm kicking myself now for not taking it earlier this week:

It's just so frustrating that one dr. looked at my amniotic fluid level and was fine with it, then my regular dr. saw it the next day and calls for the 3 hour test...how am I supposed to know who to believe/trust, kwim?? and I just hear on the phone from a "go-between" woman, who I don't think is a nurse, even, who passes a message from dr. to me, then from me to dr...I'm the type that needs to understand why we're doing something, what the implications are, what will we do if X happens. I would think most people are like that, actually. So this call out of the blue to take the 3 hour test got my back up.
Aargh, sorry for the vent.

I'll tell you one thing, this has definitely motivated me to get into better shape and eat better to avoid type II diabetes down the line...

Can anyone recommend a particular type of blood glucose monitor? I'm hoping to find something that involves as little bleeding as possible since I'm taking lovenox for clotting issues (not to mention how much I can't stand poking my fingers, but that's just whining).

I don't have GD as far as we know - passed the 1 hr test but I'm on metformin for PCOS and my OB would like me to monitor blood sugar one day per week, just to make sure they're under control (I actually am slightly concerned, since this is the first pregnancy in which I've ever measured ahead - and baby measures ahead on u/s. OB isn't concerned about that at the moment; he's just trying to be very careful. He's more concerned with things like the increased risk for stillbirth). I will be meeting with the dietician soon and I guess she helps me get the monitor, I'm not sure. (I'm so afraid I'm going to be "busted" as far as my diet goes, but that's another story).

I assume the new-fangled kind of monitors that I see advertised on tv are super expensive. I have a super-cheapo one from walgreens I bought myself long ago, but I hate the finger sticks. Is there anything in between? Does insurance pay or is this out of pocket?

thanks for any suggestions!! ugh, I don't know how you ladies do it...

I paid about $55 for my onetouch ultra at Walmart. I think that's fairly low priced for a monitor. The lancet holder is very adjustable so you can just barely break the skin(less bleeding) & you only need one small drop.

The strips are another matter, it looks like about $30/bottle is standard but if you're only testing once a week a bottle is a 6 month supply for you

Thanks--I'm thinking I do need to take the 3 hour. I don't want to take any chances. So I'll try to set that up for tomorrow morning. I'm kicking myself now for not taking it earlier this week:

It's just so frustrating that one dr. looked at my amniotic fluid level and was fine with it, then my regular dr. saw it the next day and calls for the 3 hour test...how am I supposed to know who to believe/trust, kwim?? and I just hear on the phone from a "go-between" woman, who I don't think is a nurse, even, who passes a message from dr. to me, then from me to dr...I'm the type that needs to understand why we're doing something, what the implications are, what will we do if X happens. I would think most people are like that, actually. So this call out of the blue to take the 3 hour test got my back up.
Aargh, sorry for the vent.

I'll tell you one thing, this has definitely motivated me to get into better shape and eat better to avoid type II diabetes down the line...

I can understand that! I'm planning on going back to losing weight like I was prior to getting pg asap. The good thing is the gd diet is almost exactly what I was losing weight on prior to this pregnancy so I should be able to just stay right on track.

I can understand that! I'm planning on going back to losing weight like I was prior to getting pg asap. The good thing is the gd diet is almost exactly what I was losing weight on prior to this pregnancy so I should be able to just stay right on track.

That's great! How did you know what a GD diet is? Is there a website I can look at while I wait around for my dr. to talk to me about it, which may not be until Friday? I eat a lot of carbs and still have nausea, so I really just eat what I can stomach. But I'm certainly not having trouble gaining weight this pregnancy. So I'd like to take a look at diet recommendations, since I have no clue.

I'm so scared about how this baby may have been affected if I've had GD for weeks and weeks and I haven't been managing it. I mean really scared.

I just had my first day following the diet they gave me, and I am so hungry! I am a vegetarian and in order to keep to the servings of carbs they want me to eat, I leave every meal hungry and waiting for my snack. Ugh. I hate this! So far my numbers were good, but not by a large margin at all. Any tips for vegetarians that love carbs, and don't eat a ton of protein to begin with?

I'm a vegetarian too and I very successfully diet-controlled my GD (DD was born April 28). Remember that:
1) what really matters is your blood sugar readings, not a diet plan
2) you can probably eat as much fat and protein as you want w/out affecting your blood sugar. (and, I ate that stuff to abandon and still ended up losing weight for most of my time on the GD diet, and 2 weeks PP I am 5lbs below my pre-preg weight).

Good luck. Its hard at first but it gets easier.

I was able to eat some quinoa and buckwheat groats with a meal, but not breakfast. I was able to eat any veggies I wanted (so I ate TONS of raw veggie sticks... satisfied that need to crunch on stuff...). I could eat berries (strawberries, blueberries) and my blood sugar stayed better in range.

Coconut flour saved me- I could make coconut flour muffins w/ nuts and blueberries and have them around for a quick snack/meal. they were really filling. I sweetened them with a mix of stevia and agave syrup. I can send you my recipe if you want.

I used to make "pizza" on a portabello mushroom cap (sauteed it a bit first to release some of the liquid).

Cottage cheese pancakes. Zucchini fritters. Stuff like that can sort of stand in for carbier dishes.

I paid about $55 for my onetouch ultra at Walmart. I think that's fairly low priced for a monitor. The lancet holder is very adjustable so you can just barely break the skin(less bleeding) & you only need one small drop.

The strips are another matter, it looks like about $30/bottle is standard but if you're only testing once a week a bottle is a 6 month supply for you
Hth.

That's great! How did you know what a GD diet is? Is there a website I can look at while I wait around for my dr. to talk to me about it, which may not be until Friday? I eat a lot of carbs and still have nausea, so I really just eat what I can stomach. But I'm certainly not having trouble gaining weight this pregnancy. So I'd like to take a look at diet recommendations, since I have no clue.

I'm so scared about how this baby may have been affected if I've had GD for weeks and weeks and I haven't been managing it. I mean really scared.

I am not so active on here now so I don't remember where you are in your preg. But, don't let yourself get too upset about this. The "dangers" from GD are mostly pretty minor and the serious complications come from having really high blood sugar for a prolonged period of time. The most danger for the baby is uncontrolled hyperglycemia (super high blood sugars) in the first few weeks of pregnancy, when the major organs are forming. This wouldn't be from GD, which develops as the placenta matures, it would be from out-of-control, undiagnosed underlying diabetes. A lot of the scare stories out there about GD are also b/c all the diabetes-in-pregnancy is lumped together... controlled, uncontrolled, pre-existing, diagnosed, undiagnosed, etc.

You should be able to find GD diet plans online, but really its important to get the glucometer and start testing your post-meal numbers, because then you will learn what and how much you can eat. Basically it is tight control of carb servings (=grains, fruits, starchy veg, sugary stuff) and spreading your food out into 6-7 "meals" per day.

And the insulin function changes during your pregnancy. That is why monitoring yourself is, IMO, the most important thing.

Also, exercise makes a HUGE difference. I exercised 2x per day until the last few weeks, when I wasn't able to handle that every day. Walking actually made the biggest change in my blood sugar numbers.